Good Morning, Commander
by Eternity's Angel of Mercy
Summary: What was supposed to be a simple mission on the Citadel nearly kills Garrus. Shepard feels at fault for letting her best friend and love interest get hurt; Vega decides to break Shepard out of her pity-party with a friendly "dance." FemShep/Garrus


Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Don't sue, okay? Awesome! Now enjoy :)

* * *

**Good Morning, Commander**

* * *

"You planning on running a rut into the mess, Commander?" Vega asked, eyeing his CO as she paced restlessly.

Shepard stopped short, eyes going over to the Lieutenant. "What?" she asked, voice clipped.

Vega watched her stare him down, her eyebrows drawn close together. He chose to ignore the annoyance burning in her gaze and said nonchalantly, "If you keep pacing like that, you're gonna run a rut into the floor." He took another bite of his energy bar.

For a second, Vega thought she might yell; she got that pinched look around her eyes that only showed up when she was severely pissed – or stressed. Instead, and to Vega's great relief, she let out a heavy sigh. "You're right." She moved to sit across from him, falling heavily into the metal chair.

"You alright, Lola?" Vega drawled, putting down the energy bar. He instantly regretted opening his mouth. Shepard had a lot on her plate, anyone could see that. Asking if she was alright was as pointless as asking Joker to run a marathon. The answer was so obvious the question shouldn't have to be voiced.

Shepard propped her chin on a palm as she leaned heavily on the table. "I'm fine," she answered softly, her voice weary. "Maybe a little tired."

_And worried_, Vega thought, but decided not to mention it quite so bluntly. He glanced over toward the med bay, noting that the windows were still tinted darkly. Dr. Chakwas was still busy at work on her newest patient. "He's gonna be okay, Commander."

Shepard closed her eyes slowly. "He'd better," was all she said. Her eyes remained closed, giving Vega a chance to take in the dark splotches under her eyes. Her cheeks seemed hallow; her face had always been thin and looked vaguely malnourished thanks to the high cheekbones, but now… now they were haunting.

"When was the last time you slept? Or ate for that matter?" Vega ventured. His voice had dropped a bit lower, noticing a petty officer lingering in the mess hall.

Shepard's eyes slowly parted and she offered him a faint smile. "No rest for the wicked, James. You know that."

Vega rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Well they don't say shit about no food for them – go get a protein pack at least."

Shepard shook her head, leaning back in her chair. Her hands brushed at imaginary lint on her Alliance blues, then flitted through her hair, before settling restlessly on her stomach. "Is that worry I hear, Vega?" she attempted to tease belatedly. The smile on her face was genuine enough, but her eyes didn't reflect it. "I already have a mother; I don't need a second one."

Vega snorted and went back to his energy bar. He watched the Commander as he did, though, trying to think of what he could say. What do you say to your CO when their lover is lying in a med bay, nearly dead?

"It wasn't your fault," is what he ended up saying.

Shepard's eyes flashed and Vega knew he had said the wrong thing. She was instantly to her feet and began pacing again. "_It's all my fault_. This whole goddamn thing is my fault! I should have gone in alone. What the hell was I _thinking_, dragging him along with me?"

The petty officer, who had been casually eavesdropping while heating up leftovers in the microwave, decided it was time to go. He high-tailed it to the lounge, all the while muttering something about forgetting his drink. Vega would have laughed in any other situation. As it was, he had a fuming CO directing her self-loathing and pity party onto him.

Vega was never good at comforting. Hell, growing up with a drug lord father made a lot of emotional, touchy-feely things impossible for him. So Vega did what he knew he was good at. He stood up, his bulky frame instantly towering over the small Commander.

"It wasn't your fault," he repeated firmly. That seemed to make the hornet in front of him even angrier. He didn't give her time to launch into one of her famed speeches, though. "All due respect, Commander, your whining isn't going to help Garrus. Neither is your pining over what you could have done differently. Don't you think everyone's had a mission go FUBAR? I sure as shit did! Ashley did – hell, so did Garrus! We've all screwed up at one point, Lola."

Shepard's fury did seem lessen. Now she looked hollow. It was probably even worse of a look to see than anger. Vega felt like he couldn't win with this woman. He softened his tone a bit and said, "Go get some rest, chica. I'll come get you when Chakwas is done."

Shepard shook her head. "No… no, I don't want to sleep. I need to do something… punch something…" she laughed dryly, leaning her hip against the mess' counter.

Vega grinned. This, he could handle. "Well come on, Lola! Let's dance."

Shepard tilted her head to the side, a shimmer of a real smile coming to her lips. "I don't need to send another friend to Chakwas tonight."

Vega raised his fists, punching through the air in swift succession. "Come on, Commander – chicken?"

Shepard chuckled, pushing off of the counter. She tied her hair into a quick, messy ponytail to it out of her eyes before relaxing into a fighting stance. Her left leg stepped back, her knees bent to allow proper weight distribution. That was especially important for someone of her stature when facing a behemoth of muscle like James Vega. If he was going to take her down, he'd have to work at it.

Vega came in, swiping his left hand out toward her chest; a quick jab to test her reflexes. He was surprised to see her dodge to the right easily, her obvious weariness giving way to adrenaline. _This will be fun, after all_, Vega thought with a grin. He had honestly expected her to be too exhausted to fight back.

"So, what happened down there?" Vega prodded, circling her to find a weak point. She was, as usual, in complete control of herself. As usual, however, she favored her left flank and was leaving her right under-guarded. He lashed out with a quick left-right combination, catching her just under the rib with his left before she deflected his right.

Shepard stumbled back, gasping from the pain of the hit. She shimmied from one foot to the other, eyes never leaving him. "Bad call. They happen," she simpered, throwing her right fist toward his stomach.

Vega deflected easily, brushing her fist aside with his arm as if she were a fly. He jabbed out with his right, making her stumble back to get away. She was definitely slowing down in her weariness. "You know what I mean, Lola."

Tiny pinpricks of sweat began to bead across Shepard's forehead and she assessed his movements. She began to circle, eyes critically taking in every breath, every tightening muscle. "Hackett wanted me to check out a strange channel interference coming from the Citadel," she breathed, her fist finding its way to his jaw, sending his head snapping back. "It'd been messing up his connection with the Councilors when he attempted sending Crucible updates." She followed up that piece of information with another swift, sound blow to Vega's jaw.

Vega grinned, knowing she'd jarred a few teeth – he could taste the metallic blood in his mouth. She was falling into the routine, loosening, her anger making her quicker and meaner. "Yeah, and?" he prompted, his fist darting out and almost catching her shoulder.

Shepard moved aside swiftly. "And Garrus decided he wanted to tag along. We were going to hit the bistro in the Commons afterwards for lunch." She seemed to slow down again, he eyes growing hazy, stuck in memory. "We didn't take our guns… I knew we should have. I had that gut feeling that something was wrong."

Vega lashed out, clipping her chin with his fist. She fell back into the counter, eyes narrowing; she was back in action. She launched at him without warning. She shocked him by kicking out with her leg, hooking her boot around the back of his knee and pulling. Vega fell backward, narrowly missing the countertop. He took a moment to collect himself, looking up at his panting CO. Shepard was, in his opinion, absolutely beautiful like this. She had the fiercest look on her face, like an untamed animal on the hunt. She was born to fight, just like he was.

Vega kicked out at Shepard, connecting with her thigh. She jumped back, but Vega knew there was going to be a nasty boot-print bruise there later. "Come on, Commander. Don't keep me in suspense!"

"Cerberus," she hissed, moving fluidly around him as he got up. She jabbed him in the back with a well-placed right hook before backing away, reevaluating his weak points. "I don't know how they got on the station, but they were waiting for us at the terminal in the Docking Bay. They weren't stupid enough to not bring guns," she added, eyebrows furrowing.

Vega shifted his weight from leg to leg, hands close to his face in a defensive manner. "And?"

"And," Shepard gasped between breaths, coming in close for another attack, "Garrus decided to play hero and toss me out of the way." Her fist smashed into his gut, making Vega feel like his energy bar was going to make a forceful exit from his stomach via mouth. He fell back, choking, while Shepard circled. "They took him down before C-Sec could take them out."

"That's rough, Lola," Vega wheezed. He was slumped over, hands on knees, trying to catch his breath. "But I saw him when you brought him in. He'll make it. Garrus is one strong bastard."

Shepard let out a shuddering sigh and Vega was worried she might start crying – if she started crying, he was getting the hell out of the mess. Luckily, though, her eyes were clear when she looked at him. "Thanks… for the dance. It helped."

Vega nodded, straightening up – or trying to, anyway. His stomach hurt like a bitch. "No problem." He hobbled toward his abandoned energy bar wrapper and tossed it into the trash chute before glancing back at the Commander. She was still standing in the same spot, eyes focused on the med bay windows.

"Want a drink, Lola?" Vega offered, his thumb pointed in the direction of the lounge. "You look like you could use a strong one."

Shepard laughed softly. "No thanks, James. I think… I think sleep might be better right now."

"Damn straight," Vega agreed. "Get your ass to bed, Commander. We'll wake you when he's up."

Shepard nodded, moving slowly toward the elevator. She paused halfway there, glancing back at Vega. "You're surprisingly good at pep talks."

Vega grinned. "Yeah, whatever. Get outta here before you make me blush." He watched her get on the elevator before going into the lounge.

The petty officer who had been eavesdropping earlier sat at the bar, a shot glass in hand. He seemed genuinely surprised to see Vega walking through the door. "Is the Commander in one piece?" he asked hesitantly.

"Shepard's fine," Vega said with a dismissive wave and grin. "It would take a lot more than a friendly tango to take her down."

* * *

Garrus slipped into the Captain's Cabin as quietly as he could. He was sore as hell, but at least this time he hadn't gotten half his face practically blown off. The bullet wounds to his stomach definitely hurt, but he counted himself very fortunate to even be alive.

He found Shepard as Vega had said he would – passed out in a restless sleep. Garrus had, ironically, been telling her that she needed to sleep more often. She had gotten used to Garrus' sleeping pattern, which was nowhere close to human patterns. That conversation had been right before he noticed the guns trained on them…

He slowly and gently lowered himself onto the bed beside her, reaching out to brush a strand of damp hair from her cheek. She must have come straight out of the shower because she smelled like the fruity shampoo she indulged in. Her bare skin seemed to shimmer in the glow of her fish tank.

Garrus' thumb gently traced over the curve of her naked body, watching as she breathed softly through parted lips. It was unbelievable how innocent she looked while she slept.

As if sensing his thoughts, her eyes slowly opened. She smiled sleepily, stretching. "When did you get in here?" she asked softly. "I thought you were down in…" she broke off, eyes widening. Any trace of sleep that remained was gone. "What are you doing out of the med bay? Shit, Garrus, are you-"

He placed a finger to her lips, silencing her effectively. He removed his finger, meeting her full lips with his mouth in a human kiss. When he pulled away, he murmured, "Good morning, Commander."

Shepard's face softened into an expression Garrus was sure no one else had seen before. She relaxed back into her pillow, gently bringing him down with her. Her hand cupped his cheek as she whispered, "Good morning, Garrus. It's good to have you back."

Garrus grinned, pulling her closer to him. "There's no way they could keep me down. Not while you were waiting for me." He held her close, listening to her heart beat in time with his as she fell asleep.

* * *

Author's Note:

I love these two. :)

Did you like it? Love it? _Loathe_ it? Let me know in the comments!

Love love,

E.


End file.
